Steelers’ plan at nose tackle unconventional

PITTSBURGH — When the Steelers selected Casey Hampton in the first round of the 2001 NFL Draft, it sent shock waves through the rest of the NFL.

With Hampton holding down the middle of the Steelers defensive line, the team went from having the league’s seventh-best defense in 2000 -- including 12th against the run -- to No. 1 in 2001, with a big improvement in run defense, which also led the league at just under 75 yards per game allowed.

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It got to the point, however, that by 2002, teams quit attempting to try to run the ball against the Steelers -- most notably with the Patriots and Raiders going to an all-out air attack to start the season -- with the idea of keeping Hampton standing on the sideline.

Fast forward to 2020. The Steelers lost nose tackle Javon Hargrave, a third-round draft pick in 2016, in free agency. Instead of using a high draft pick on another nose tackle to replace him, the Steelers waited until the seventh round of last month’s draft to select Nebraska’s Carlos Davis.

Such is life in today's NFL, where true run-stopping nose tackles are going the way of the fullback.

“The big thing is that, like Javon displayed, it’s better when you have a nose that is versatile in today’s game,” Mike Tomlin said Saturday.

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